The Man Test

Men are constantly bombarded with the idea that they have to live up to the pressures that are put on them and the ideals of masculinity. There are powerful societal norms that command men to be masculine in every area of their life. The University of Washington released a research paper that has data that proves that men overcompensate when they fall short of these ideals. Men are reasserting their masculinity in minute but substantial ways. The study was published in Social Psychology last week. The initial study took place when the question was posed, ‘how do men respond when their masculinity is questioned or threatened?’. Men would either play up their manly roles or Doe noted they would aggressively reject any type of feminine preference. The study gave male college students a hand grip strength test. When these men underperformed they later exaggerated their height by three quarters of an inch. They asserted that they had more romantic relationships, claimed that they had no interest in stereotypically feminine consumer products, and gave the assertion that they were more aggressive and athletic than what they actually were. These findings don’t just stop at how men bragged to one another. The study showed that men who were threatened would engage in instigating violence against women to get their masculinity back. The study goes deeper into the minds of men and how they identify with their idea of being masculine is.